Mitch McConnell is a Russian asset  —  Mitch McConnell is a Russian asset.  —  This doesn't mean he's a spy, but neither is it a flip accusation.  Russia attacked our country in 2016.  It is attacking us today.  Its attacks will intensify in 2020.  Yet each time we try to raise our defenses …

Mueller's team told Congress his acuity was not an issue.  Some lawmakers privately worry it was.  —  The whispers started in 2018, though where they originated remains unclear: Robert S. Mueller III, the taciturn Marine veteran leading an investigation of the president of the United States, might not be as sharp as he once was.

Trump attacks Rep. Cummings's district, calling it a ‘disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess’  —  President Trump ranted Saturday morning on Twitter about an African American lawmaker by disparaging the Baltimore district that Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.) represents as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

Supreme Court Lets Trump Proceed on Border Wall  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday gave President Trump a victory in his fight for a wall along the Mexican border by allowing the administration to begin using $2.5 billion in Pentagon money for the construction.

POLITICO Playbook: Why the GOP retirements are a gut punch for the party  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  WHILE WE WERE ALL watching ROBERT MUELLER and Democrats this week, here's what happened to House Republicans: Three popular and well-respected members of Congress decided they weren't going to run for reelection.

What Kamala Harris Believes  —  The Democratic candidate wants relevant policy, not “a beautiful sonnet.”  Is that enough for voters?  —  LOS ANGELES — At her strongest, Senator Kamala Harris is forceful and pragmatic.  She elates crowds in Iowa and South Carolina with her denunciations …

California's Newsom wrestles with Trump tax return bill  —  SACRAMENTO — Gavin Newsom has spent the first six months of his governorship positioning himself as the West Coast anti-Trump while taking pains to distinguish himself from his legendary predecessor, Jerry Brown.

Kuster, Pappas join growing call for formal US House inquiry into Trump impeachment  —  Kuster was first member of all-Democratic NH congressional delegation to take strong position; Pappas later joined about 100 House Democrats issuing call  —  HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT  —  CONCORD, N.H. —

The Roots of Boeing's 737 Max Crisis: A Regulator Relaxes Its Oversight  —  SEATTLE — In the days after the first crash of Boeing's 737 Max, engineers at the Federal Aviation Administration came to a troubling realization: They didn't fully understand the automated system that helped send …

Despite calls to start over, US health system covers 90%  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — America's much-maligned health care system is covering 9 out of 10 people, a fact that hasn't stopped the 2020 presidential candidates from refighting battles about how to provide coverage, from Bernie Sanders' call …

You're probably making incorrect assumptions about your opposing political party  —  “You know what they really want.”  —  As America slouches toward the 2020 presidential election, candidates and pundits will regularly tell you this about the other political side, followed by a list …

The New Conservative Pyrite  —  “National conservatism” is another road to serfdom.  —  Friedrich Hayek, whose thoughts used to count for something among well-educated conservatives, made short work of nationalism as a guiding principle in politics.  “It is this nationalistic bias …

Trump's ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Iran faces key test  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran is at a crossroads.  —  His administration is trying to decide whether to risk stoking international tensions even more by ending …

Trump's Inhumanity Before a Victim of Rape  —  In his boundless self-absorption, this president is capable of anything.  —  Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the Harvard professor and four-term United States senator from New York, famously observed, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”

Review: Kevin Williamson's ‘The Smallest Minority’  —  The gloves are off  —  Kevin Williamson is having fun.  “You want to do this?  Okay, let's f—ing do this,” you can almost hear him muttering.  In the resultant extended, hilarious, quixotic rant, he takes the gloves off in the fight …

$250 million Sandmann lawsuit against Washington Post dismissed by federal judge  —  Ted Sandmann, father Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann, on why he wants doxing legislation to criminalize revealing a minor's identity online  —  The $250 million lawsuit filed by Nick Sandmann …